Battle Angel Alita
, the first volume of the series.]] 'Battle Angel Alita, known in Japan as '''Gunnm (銃夢, Ganmu), a 1111portmanteau of "Gun" and the Japanese word for "Dream", is a manga series created by Yukito Kishiro in 1990 and originally published in Shueisha's Business Jump magazine. Two of the nine-volume were adapted into two anime episodes titled Battle Angel for North American release by ADV Films and the UK and Australian release by Manga Entertainment. Manga Entertainment also dubbed Battle Angel Alita into English. The series is set in the post-apocalyptic future and focuses on Alita, a cyborg who has lost all memories and is found in a dump heap by a cyberphysician who rebuilds and takes care of her. She discovers that there is one thing she remembers, the legendary cyborg martial art Panzer Kunst, which leads to her becoming a hunter-warrior. The story traces Alita's attempts to rediscover her past and the characters whose lives she impacts on her journey. The manga series is continued in Battle Angel Alita: Last Order. Plot Battle Angel Alita tells the story of Alita (Gally in the original Japanese version), an amnesiac female cyborg. Her intact head and chest, in suspended animation, are found by cyberphysician Daisuke Ido in the local dump. Ido manages to revive her and, finding she has lost her memory, names her Alita after his deceased cat. The rebuilt Alita soon discovers that she remembers the legendary martial art Panzer Kunst, although she doesn't recall anything else. Alita uses her Panzer Kunst to first becoming a hunter-warrior and killing cyborg criminals in the Scrapyard, and then as a player in the brutal sport of motorball. While in combat, Alita awakens memories of her earlier life on Mars. She becomes involved with the floating city of Tiphares as one of their agents. Foremost is the mad genius Desty Nova, who clashes with Alita before becoming her ally. The futuristic dystopian world of Battle Angel Alita revolves around the metropolis known as the Scrapyard, which centered around a massive dump heap formed from the garbage that rains down from Tiphares (Zalem in Japan). Ground dwellers have no access to Tiphares and are forced to make a living in the sprawl below. Many are heavily modified by cybernetics to better cope with their hard life. Tiphares exploits the Scrapyard and surrounding farms, paying mercenaries called hunter-warriors to hunt criminals and arranging violent sports to keep the population entertained. Massive tubes connect the Scrapyard to Tiphares, and the city uses robots for carrying out errands and providing security on the ground. Occasionally, Tiphareans (such as Ido) are exiled and sent to the ground. Aside from the robots and exiles, there is little between the two cities. Setting The story takes place in the former United States. According to a map printed in Fallen Angel Scrapyard and Tiphares are near Kansas City, Missouri, and the Necropolis is Colorado Springs, Colorado. Radio KAOS is at Dallas, Texas. Figure's coastal hometown is Alhambra, California. Desty Nova's Granite Inn is built out of a former military base - NORAD at Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado.The Kudos! List Battle Angel Alita is revealed to take place in the 26th century. About midway through Last Order reference is made to a revised calendar known as Era Sputnik (ES), based on the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957. A detailed timeline was later included with Gunnm: Another Stories. Easter Eggs Several Sci Fi characters and items appear as Easter Eggs through out Kishiro's earlier works. These consist of: 1) Forbidden Planet (Robbie) in Fight 004 Resurgents. 2) Black Hole (VINcent) in Fight 004 Resurgents. 3) Black Hole (Maximillian) in Fight 004 Resurgents. 4) Iron Maiden (Eddie) in Fight 004 Resurgents. 5) Robocop in Fight 004 Resurgents. 6) Alien's face hugger in Fight 005 Sanctuary of Drain. References External links *The original tankōbon on Yukitopia Category:Battle Angel Alita Category:Manga